Tank beveling apparatus



Nov, 25, 1952 c. A. GUYNN TANK BEVELING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledD80. 14, 1949 INVENTOR CH/LQLES 0. 0mm

BY 27 ATTORNLEYS Nov 25, $1952 INVENTOR Patented Nov. 25, 1952 TANKBEVELING APPARATUS Charles A. Guynn, Pascagoula, Miss., assignor to TheIngalls Shipbuilding Corporation, a corporation of Delaware ApplicationDecember 14, 1949, Serial No. 132,937

7 Claims.

1 My present invention relates to apparatus for beveling the ends ofcylindrical tanks, heads for tanks and the like, to provide bevelededges preparatory to welding the same together.

An object of my invention is to provide bevele tanks or othercylindrical bodies as well as the ing apparatus of the characterdesignated which shell itself. comprises means to attach a supportingspider As shown in Fig. 1, my improved apparatus for a pair of angularlydisposed cutting torches to comprises a spider made up of a centralblock a tank shell or dished head for a tank, whereby II and having fourarms I2 welded thereto. Each the torches are accurately directed againstthe of the arms I2 is identical, and hence a descripedge of the tankshell or head as the case may be, tion of one will suffice for all. Thearms are thus cutting double bevels on the periphery of braced bymembers I3 and are equi-angularly the shell or head at one pass of thetorches. spaced. On the outer ends of each of the arms A further objectis to provide apparatus of the I2 is an upstanding lug I4. In each lugis a horicharacter designated which may be quickly and zontally disposedthreaded hole I6 adapted to easily attached to a tank shell or tankhead, and threadably receive a set screw I'I. Each of the in whichaccurate centerin of the supporting set screws I1 is disposed to be runin through the spider with the shell or head is made unnecessarythreaded opening in the lug thereby to engage the through the provisionof spring biased torch inner Walls of the shell or head, thus to supportholding and drive mechanism carried on the the entire spider. outer endof a rotating arm. As shown more clearly in Fig. 3 the block II is Afurther object is to provide apparatus of provided'with a verticallydisposed opening I8 the character designated which shall be simplethrough which passes a bolt I9. On top of the of construction andoperation, and in which the block II and surrounding the bolt I9 is aspacer torches when supported on the tank shell or head 2 I. may beuniversally adjusted with respect to the Disposed to be supported at itsinner end for edge to be beveled thus permitting the formation rotationabout the bolt I9 as a pivot point and of beveled edges with a minimumof time and exto be supported on the end of the tank shell is my pense.improved rotary beveling mechanism. This Apparatus illustrating thefeatures of my inmechanism comprises generally a block 22 having ventionis shown in the accompanying drawings a vertically disposed hole in oneend fitting over forming a part of this application in which: the upperend of the bolt I9, on top of the spacer Fig. 1 is a plan view of a tankshowing my im- 2I. In the opposite end of the block 22 is a provedapparatus in the process of being placed horizontally disposed hole 23.Extending outthereon, certain of the parts being broken away wardly ofthe block 22 is a radially disposed for the sake of clarity; travelingarm 24 having on its inner end a pair Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view ofthe outer end of split blocks 29 and 27 which are clamped about of thetorch supportin arm, the torches and certhe inner end of the arm bymeans of bolts 23. tain oth r p r n f the m anism being omit- Welded tothe sides of the blocks 26 and 21 are tea for the sake of clarity;inwardly extending straps 29 and 30. The straps Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview partly in section 29 and 39 overhang the inner ends of the blocksand broken away of the central portion of the 2S and 21 and are adaptedto be secured to the spider; block 22 by means of a pin 3| passingthrough Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken generally suitable holesin the end of the straps and the along line IV-IV of Fig. 2; hole 23 inthe outer end of the block 22.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken gener- Near the outer end of thetraveling arm 24 is a ally along line VV of Fig. 2; stop member in theform of a collar 32 secured Fig. 6 is a View of one of the removable tothe arm by means of a set screw 33. On the brackets ak n er lly alongline VI--VI of outer end of the arm 24 is slidably mounted a Fig. 1;sleeve 34. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 7, welded Fig. 7 is a detailsectional View taken along to the top of the sleeve 34 is a plate 36.Extendline VII-VII of Fig. 2; ing upwardly from the center of the plateis a Fig. 8 is a fragmental sectional view through a stud 31. On top ofthe plate 36 is a spacing tank shell and head showing the same weldedto' washer 3B, and on top of the Washer 38 is a bevelgether; and, ingtorch and guide roller supporting arm 39.

Fig. 9 is a fragmental sectional view through a The sleeve 34 and theremainder of the mechatank shell and dished head showing the double nismcarried thereby including the arm 39, is bevel on the welded edgesthereof. spring biased outwardly of the arm 24 by means Referring now tothe drawings for a better of'a compression spring 4| having one endconunderstanding of my invention and more particuso tacting the collar32 and the opposite end conlarly to Fig. 1, my improved apparatus isshown in the process of being'mounted on the end of a 2 cylindrical tankshell I9. In using my apparatus the tank is placed in upright position.As will hereinafter appear, my invention is equally applicable tobeveling the head of a dished head for tacting the inner end of thesleeve 34.

The end of the plate 36 outwardly of the arm 3 24 overhangs the sleeve34. Mounted on the overhanging end of the plate 36 is a driving motor 42which may be of the variable speed type and which may have its shaftconnected to a speed reduction gear box 42a. Mounted on the output shaftof the gear box is a friction driving roller 43 disposed to contact theend of the shell I0, thus to rotate the arm 24 together with themechanism attached thereto. Electricity is supplied to the motor 42through a cable 44 under control of a switch 45, and the speed of themotor may be varied by means of a rheostat 46, indicateddiagrammatically in Fig. 1.

The actual beveling, guide and supporting roller mechanism will now bedescribed. As best shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 7, on the outer end of thearm 39 I provide a vertically disposed rod 47. The rod 4'! has anenlarged section 48 above the arm 39 and a reduced diameter upper end.The lower end of the rod is secured to the arm 39 by means of a nut 49.Secured to the enlarged portion 48 of the pin 41 is the clamp end of anoutwardly extending arm 52. Rotatably mounted in the end of the arm 52,in position to bear against the inner wall of the shell I0, is a roller53.

On top of the arm 52 is a spacing lug 54. Resting on top of the lug 54is an arm 5.6 having a slot 51 therein. Passing through the slot andthreaded into the arm 52 is a stud 53. Mounted in the end of the arm 56is a roller '59 disposed to ride on top of the edge of the tank III. Theroller 59 preferably is made of resilient material such as medium hardrubber while the roller 53 is preferably made of non-resilient materialsuch as metal.

Mounted non-rotatably on the pin 41, on the reduced upper end thereof,is an outwardly extending arm 6|. Depending from the arm GI and securedthereto is another arm 62. On the end of the arm 62 is a mechanism foradjustably supporting a second roller disposed to bear against the innerwall of the shell. This mechanism comprises a vertical pin 63 having aplate 64 welded to its side near the upper end thereof. Next adjacentthe plate 64 is a spacer block 66. Passing through the plate 64, spacerblock 66 and the end of the arm 62 are bolts 61 disposed to secure thepin to the end of the arm 62. On the lower end of the pin 63 isadjustably mounted a block 68 having a clamp end 69 secured about theend of the pin by means of a screw 10. Outstanding from the block 68 isa supporting lug II having a pair of holes I2 and I3 therein. Adapted tobe mounted selectively in the holes I2 and I3 is a pin I4. Set screws I6are adapted to be run in against the pin 14 to hold the samenon-rotatably with respect to the lug II.

The lower end of the pin I4 is provided with a horizontally disposedopening adapted to receive a rounded shank I7 projecting from a casterframe I8. Mounted in the caster frame I8 is a rubber tired roller I9disposed to bear against the inner wall of the shell I0.

Above the arm BI is mounted an. arm 8| having.

a clamp end 82 fitting about the reduced upper end of the pin 41.Secured to the arm 8| is a pin 83. Fitting about the pin 83 is the clampend 84 of a slide holder 66 carrying therein an adjusting screw 61having a pinion, not shown, on its lower end. Fitting within the slide86 is a rack bar 88 with the teeth thereof engaged with the pinion ontheend of the screw 81.

Mounted on the rack bar 88 are a pair of slides, adjusting screw andpinion members, similar to the members just mentioned and indicatedgenerally by the numerals 89 and 9|. Secured to each of the last namedslides is a burning torch assembly indicated generally by the numerals92 and 93. In the manner understood for such devices, the torches propermay be provided with rack teeth, and each of the same may be supportedin slide, adjusting screw and pinion devices 94 and 96. The torches aredirected upwardly whereby, in the manner to be explained the end of thetank shell I0 is beveled. Oxygen and acetylene may be supplied to thetorches through hose 95 and 95a.

Also mounted on the reduced upper end of the pin 41, and extendingoppositely to the arm 8| is another arm 91. The arm 91 carries a slide,adjusting screw and pinion devices, indicated at 98, similar to thedevices 86, 9|, 94 and 96. Fitting within the slide mechanism 98 is acounterweighting rack bar 99 which, in the manner understood is disposedto counterbalance the weight of the torches, maintaining the same inproper alignment.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 6, I show removable members whichare disposed to be used in placing my improved apparatus on a tank shellor tank head. These devices are in the form of removable hanger bracketsfor placing the central spider substantially at the center of the shellor tank head and to support the spider until the set screws are run in.Each hanger bracket comprises an inverted Ushaped clamp portion IIJIadapted to straddle the edge of the shell I6. One leg of the U -shapedmember is provided with a threaded opening I02 for receiving a clampingscrew I63 having an operating wheel I04 on its end. Extending inwardlyand downwardly of the tank and secured to the U-shaped clamp portion IOIis a plate I66. The plate is provided with a horizontal foot section I67adapted to temporarily support the ends of the arm I2 of the spider whenmounting the spider on the tank or shell as will be explained.

From the foregoing the method of constructing and using my improvedapparatus may now be explained and understood. In placing the device ona tank shell or dished head the four removable hanger brackets areplaced approximately at to each other and secured in place by running inon the hand wheel I94, thus securely clamping the members to the top ofthe shell. The set screws I! in the ends of the arms I2 are runinwardly, and the spider is laid in place with the outer ends of thearms I2 resting on the foot I01 of the hanger brackets. The set screwsII are run outwardly, engaging the inner walls of the tank shell. Thehanger brackets are now removed, thus leaving the spider and entiremechanism embodying the four arms, the cross bracing I3 and thevertically disposed pin I9, spacer 2| and block 22 in place on the tank.With the spider mounted a described the center of the spider coincideswith the center of the tank I now bring into place the traveling arm 24together with its associated mechanism, including the motor, its drivingroller, and the other side and end rollers together with the torches. Byplacing the thrust rollers 53 and I9 against the inside of the tank wallI compress th spring 4| b pushing radially outwardly on the arm 24,bringing the holes through the straps 29 and 36 into alignment with thecross hole 23 in the block 22. I now insert the pin 3|, securing thesemembers together. It will be apparent that the sprin 4| thus presses thesleeve 34, together with the remainder of the mechanism carried thereby,outwardly. This brings the thrust rollers 53 and 79 into firm contactwith the inside of the tank shell, positions the rollers 59 and 43 tosupport the end of the arm 24 and the beveling torches and associatedmechanism. The cutting torches are fired, and the motor 42 is energizedthrough the rheostat 46, thereby to determine the speed of rotation ofthe driving roller 43, the apparatus travelling as indicated by thearrows.

The double bevel of the tank shell it cut by my improved apparatus isindicated in Fig. 8. The head Illa of the tank shown in Fig. 8 may be ofthe fiat type, and the welding material for filling, indicated at lllb,may thus be applied to both sides. Alternately, the head of the tank maybe of the dished type 100 indicated in Fig. 9 and my improved apparatusmay be employed to cut a beveled edge on such a head and the same thenwelded to the tank Hi.

It will be noted that my invention is characterized by the provision ofmeans to obtain accurate and positive adjustment of the angle of thetorches and to hold these adjustments throughout the pass of the torchesaround the circular end of the tank or head. It will also be apparentthat spring mounting the entire motor and torch assembly on the end ofthe arm 24 makes it unnecessary to accurately position the pin l9 at thecenter of the tank or head. My invention may thus be applied to a tankwith very little accuracy on the part of the operator, and the removablehanger brackets indicated in Fig. 6 materially aid and simplify theinstallation and removal of the apparatus from a tank shell or head.When it is desired to remove the apparatus the brackets shown in Fig. 6may be put in place, the set screws I l loosened and the entiremechanism removed by means of a mechanical lifting device or by hand. Inactual practice I have found that my improved apparatus is satisfactoryin every way and that the same is effective to make either single ordouble beveled cuts on the end of cylindrical bodies.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptibleof various changes and modifications, without departing from the spiritthereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall beplaced thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with apparatus for beveling the end of a cylindricaltank shell and the like embodying a supporting spider the center ofwhich coincides with the center of the shell when mounted thereon andmeans removably securing the spider to the inner walls of the shell, ofa radially extending arm having its inner end pivoted to the center ofthe spider, a slidable sleeve on the outer end of the arm disposed forlongitudinal movement along said arm, cutting torches and arm rotatingmechanism carried by and rigidly connected to the sleeve, a rollermounted for rotation in a plane adjacent the end of the sleeve andadapted to engage the inner wall of the shell, and a spring carried bysaid arm biasing the sleeve outwardly of the radially extending arm onwhich the same is mounted.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which the arm carries an electricmotor mounted on the sleeve and a friction roller driven thereby adaptedto contact the end of the shell.

3. In apparatus for beveling the end or a cylindrical tank shell and thelike, a multi-arm spider, a set screw in the end of each arm adapted tocontact the inner wall of the shell to removably secure the spider tothe shell, a traveling arm pivotally mounted at one end to the radialcenter of the spider, a sleeve slidably surrounding the other end of thetraveling arm and disposed to move longitudinally thereof, a stop memberfixed to the traveling arm inwardly of the sleeve, a compression springhaving one end bearing against the stop member and the other end bearingagainst the inner end of the sleeve, an electric motor mounted on thesleeve, a friction drive roller mounted for rotation on said armoutwardly of the motor and adapted to rest on the end of the shell wall,a pair of thrust rollers rotatably connected to the sleeve and adaptedto engage the inner wall of the shell, a supporting roller connected tothe sleeve and adapted to rest on the end of the shell wall, and a pairof cutting torches supported by the sleeve and adapted to cut a doublebevel on the end of the shell wall as the traveling arm rotates aboutthe shell.

4. In apparatus for beveling the end of a cylindrical tank shell and thelike, a multi-arm spider having a central member to which the inner endsof the arms are secured, an upstanding pin carried by the centralmember, a traveling arm pivotally mounted at its inner end to the pin, asleeve slidably surrounding the outer end of the arm and disposed tomove longitudinally thereof, a spring biasing the sleeve outwardly ofthe arm, a pair of thrust rollers carried by the sleeve adapted toengage the inner wall of the shell, a supporting roller carried by thesleeve adapted to engage the end of the shell wall, a pair of bevelingdevices mounted on and movable with the sleeve and adapted to engage theend of the shell, and a motor driven roller mounted on said sleeve andadapted to frictionally engage the end of the shell and move thetraveling arm and beveling devices about the shell.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 in which one of said thrust rollersis disposed substantially beneath the supporting roller.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 in which one of the thrust rollers isdisposed substantially beneath the supporting roller and is made ofnon-resilient material, and in which the other thrust roller is made ofresilient material.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 in which the thrust rollers aredisposed one ahead of the other with respect to direction of rotation ofsaid traveling arm, the forwardmost roller being mounted for pivotalmovement relative to the sleeve and the rearmost roller being fixedlymounted relative to the sleeve against other than rotational movement.

CHARLES A. GUYNN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,000,399 Gessert Aug. 15, 19111,124,784 Monro Jan. 12, 1915 1,172,933 Bucknam Feb. 22, 1916 1,345,242Reynolds June 29, 1920 1,499,498 Bienenstock July 1, 1924 1,692,924Brown Nov. 27, 1928 1,775,667 Bucknam Sept. 16, 1930 1,852,413 HickeyApr. 5, 1932 2,061,442 Summers "11..--.." Nov. 17, 1936

